We’re excited to announce the release of VMware Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated Edition 1.9 with support for Kubernetes 1.18.8. This release reaffirms our commitment to providing a production-ready container platform for customers, aligned to upstream Kubernetes, with additional support for Windows Containers and Velero. In this post, we'll focus on some of the key capabilities offered in Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated Edition 1.9 that further support customers with production readiness.

A lot has happened since VMworld 2019. OK, that might be the understatement of the year. But in that time, VMware Tanzu has evolved into a broad portfolio for building and modernizing applications. Operations teams now have what they need to build a more secure software supply chain. And, at the foundation, vSphere pros have a simplified way to get started with Kubernetes.

The free availability of hundreds of thousands of open-source applications and components available as containers in public registries like Docker Hub presents both opportunities and challenges for enterprises looking to make the most of their shiny new Kubernetes clusters. Open-source software achieves a wide variety of functionality within modern applications, removing the need for developers to create their own services, such as logging and monitoring, caching, databases, message queues, etc.

In conjunction with VMworld 2020, we are announcing new functionalities of Tanzu Observability by Wavefront that accelerate analytics-driven insights and data onboarding for DevOps teams, including developers, Kubernetes operators, and wider operations teams. We have added support for PromQL, expanded packaged application insights, and grown the Tanzu Observability ecosystem—both within the Tanzu portfolio and outside of it—by adding support for popular DevOps and developer tools.

Fresh off the exciting announcement of Azure Spring Cloud’s general availability at SpringOne, today we are happy to announce the public preview of Steeltoe .NET support. Azure Spring Cloud is a fully managed service for Spring Boot—and now Steeltoe .NET—apps. As a native Azure service, it is operated by Microsoft. But VMware has partnered closely with Microsoft in the development of the service and fully supports Microsoft in its operation of Azure Spring Cloud.

Whether you’re years deep into the Kubernetes experience or just dipping your toes into the water, there’s no such thing as too much perspective. After all, Kubernetes is poised to become a foundational element of enterprise infrastructure, and it’s evolving fast. Mistakes made today could lead to some gnarly fixes down the road.